Juan Soto -- looking like a bust for the Mets

[cgjackson222]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

Indeed it was. Be nice if you did likewise on occasion.



That Juan Soto is egregiously overpaid given what he adds to the Mets team. (14 words)



Yes, that's what I suspect. And once again it would be nice if you addressed that point instead of engaging in personal attacks.



I do NOT understand why Juan Soto was awarded such a large contract. In Steve Cohen's position I would not have done so.

But I've already very clearly made these points in this thread. Why are you asking me to repeat myself? What the hell is it that you still fail to understand?

I don't think it is any secret why Juan Soto set a record contract.

These are a few reasons: He is only 26 years old, but still has an incredible body of work that suggests there are many years of top-tier performance ahead of him. Few have ever accomplished as much as he has at such an early age. A few examples of his accomplishments: a) 26 multi-homer games, which is tied with Jimmie Foxx for the most ever before turning 27 (he turns 27 on October 25th) b) He is one of 17 players to record 1,000 hits and 200 homers before his 27th birthday. He’s the only player in that age bracket to also reach 800 walks c) He was the youngest player in National League history to win a batting title (2020 at age 21) d) His career On Base Percentage of .419 puts him at #22 ever, ahead of players like Stan Musial, Wade Boggs, or Aaron Judge. e) I know you don't care about new-fangled stats like WAR or OPS+ but his numbers are off the charts. His career OPS+ of 159 is ahead of Hank Aaron, Shohei Ohtani and Joe DiMaggio, and means he has hit 59% better than his peers. f) his WAR is already 39.7, which puts him at #21 of all active players. The only other person that is close to that and is in their 20s is Ronald Acuna Jr. at 27.6 WAR and age 27. While you don't care about WAR, I can assure that MVP voters, and player evaluators do.


But there are also many intangibles that make Soto valuable to a franchise. He is extremely popular among fans. As of March 31st, Soto ranks 3rd in popularity for jersey sales behind Ohtani, Freeman, and ahead of Betts and Judge.

Soto is a big part of the reason that the Mets are having huge ticket sales. In the 9 days after Soto signed with the Mets, the club saw "across-the-board boosts in both single-game and season-ticket sales. Among the key results:

A club record for the opening day of single-game ticket sales on Dec. 9. The revenue total, though not disclosed, surpassed the comparable day last year within the first 45 minutes of availability and ultimately tripled the 2023 figure.
A doubling in single-game ticket sales for the 2025 regular season for the Dec. 9–15 period compared to the opening week of single-game sales for 2024.
A doubling in 2025 spring training ticket sales for the Dec. 9–15 period compared to the prior week.
A sellout of Delta Sky360° Club at Citi Field, with the club moving in recent days to create a waiting list."

As of June 13, the Mets have the biggest home attendance increase of any team in MLB.

When Othani and Judge signed their mega-deals, they were older than Soto is. Ohtani is currently 30 (and signed his megadeal at 29) and I believe Judge was 30 when he signed his deal.

As for your musings (without any evidence) that Steve Cohen has jacked up the cost of concessions or ticket costs since signing Soto, I would just say that ticket sales are mostly a function of supply and demand, so I'm sure ticket prices have gone up in the secondary market. I have not found any evidence that they have gone up in price in the primary market, but they may have, at least to cover inflation.

But as mentioned many times before in this thread, the cost of concessions and ticket sales is not a huge concern to an owner that is worth 21.3 Billion

Here is a link to Mets ticket prices from 2006 - 2024. Cohen bought the Mets in 2020, so he doesn't have a track record of raising prices. Surprisingly, this article says the Mets median ticket price is below average, and even lower than the Rockies.